City to Withhold Housing Allocations

The Ventura City Council will not distribute any housing allocations for large projects this year while it considers whether to revamp the entire allocation system.

The council on Monday voted 5 to 2 to reject the Planning Commission's recommendation to allocate 120 units to three developers, saying that the council Housing Committee should look at the issue in detail.

Councilmen Jack Tingstrom and James Monahan dissented, saying that the developers should not have to suffer further delays for their projects.

Council members directed the Housing Committee to draft a new housing policy that calls for developers to provide more parks, community centers and other public improvements.

"We have some facilities and services that are needed, and we need to find a way to get that done," said Councilman Tom Buford, in an interview following the vote. "It's up to us to better define what we're looking for."

Current city policy limits the council to 140 housing unit allocations each year. Some council members said that by giving out small allocations for large projects piecemeal over several years, the city loses the ability to get sizable public improvements from developers.